“Today’s event, Youth Against Disinformation: An International Exchange of Experiences Between Poland and Lithuania, is just one of many initiatives we plan to dedicate to this issue at our school,” announced Anna Struk, Headteacher of the V High School of General Education named after United Europe in Olsztyn.
This is very welcome news, as disinformation affects everyone, including young people. “I do not expect the problem of disinformation to disappear anytime soon,” Headteacher Anna Struk added. “On the contrary, I believe it will intensify. That is why there is such a strong need to educate all of us—especially young people, who, although highly skilled in using social media, may be the least resistant to disinformation precisely because of it.”
Disinformation: We Are All Victims
In November 2025, we gathered at the V High School of General Education named after United Europe in Olsztyn to listen, discuss, and learn together how to recognise and combat disinformation. Today, disinformation is a serious challenge in our part of Europe, fuelled by systematic foreign interference—
mainly from Russia and Belarus—and further compounded by political polarisation and insufficient media literacy. Poland’s significant role in supporting Ukraine has made it a prime target of information warfare.
One of the key aspects of this problem is foreign interference. Russia and Belarus are conducting a systematic information war against Poland, a country located on NATO’s and the European Union’s eastern flank. These campaigns aim to undermine trust in democratic institutions, deepen social divisions, and weaken the credibility of the media. Common tactics include creating fake websites that impersonate legitimate media outlets, spreading false narratives about alleged Polish aggression, and attempting to destabilise the country’s political situation.
This makes public awareness more important than ever. Yet a significant portion of Polish society still struggles to identify false information. Only 16 per cent of Poles declare that they verify information found online, compared to the EU average of 25 per cent. At the same time, a growing lack of trust in traditional media makes citizens more vulnerable to alternative—and often manipulated—
sources of information.
Internal political polarisation also exacerbates the problem. Social and political divisions always create fertile ground for disinformation, which hostile actors exploit by amplifying existing tensions and provoking conflict.
Disinformation campaigns target key areas such as national security, the energy sector, public health (as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic), and crisis management during natural disasters, including the floods of 2024. Disinformers increasingly rely on sophisticated tools such as deepfakes and AI-generated content, making manipulation both easier to carry out and harder to detect—
especially during elections or times of crisis.
Education, Education!
During the meeting, Dr hab. Marcin Chełminiak, Professor at the University of Warmia and Mazury, delivered a lecture entitled “Geopolitical Threats and Their Impact on Youth.” He discussed manipulation and disinformation as tools of hybrid warfare, explained the mechanisms of propaganda in the context of the war in Ukraine, and addressed the radicalisation of young people as a consequence of geopolitical tensions. He emphasised the crucial role schools play in building resilience to hybrid threats. “Media education today is an element of national security,” Professor Chełminiak stated.
Meanwhile, teachers from Adam Mickiewicz High School in Vilnius discussed the topic “The Lithuanian Perspective: Hybrid Threats in the Baltic States.” Like Poland, Lithuania lies on the front line of hybrid warfare, although the nature of these threats differs in certain respects. The Lithuanian teachers discussed Russian disinformation campaigns targeting their society, cooperation between schools and security institutions, prevention programmes, efforts to build social resilience, and defence education in Lithuanian schools. They also presented in
depth research on Lithuanian society in the context of disinformation threats. Disinformation in the Oxford Style
An important part of the event was an Oxford-style debate based on the motion: “Preventive censorship is an effective method of combating disinformation in the context of hybrid warfare.” This was not the first Oxford debate held at the V High School of General Education named after United Europe in Olsztyn. The students of this school have extensive experience in this type of debate format and numerous achievements to their credit.
For those unfamiliar with the format, an Oxford debate is a highly structured form of discussion in which two teams argue for or against a predefined motion, with their positions determined in advance by drawing lots. The debate involves a marshal, assisted by a secretary, teams of proponents and opponents, judges, and an audience.
This time, students from a high school in Ostróda argued in favour of the motion, while students from the host school formed the opposition. Exceptionally, the
debate was held without a jury, without scoring, and without declaring a winner. The goal was not to compete but raise awareness of the problem of disinformation—and the belief that, ultimately, we can all become winners in this struggle.
“I am deeply impressed by this Oxford debate,” admitted Professor Dr hab. Marek Melnyk, historian, columnist, and academic at the University of Warmia and Mazury, shortly after its conclusion. “These young people demonstrated how well prepared they are to discuss disinformation. Until today, I believed this topic would be completely incomprehensible to their generation. Instead, they proved that young people are neither helpless nor naive victims of disinformation. They understand the issues perfectly and are capable of critical analysis. This gives me great hope.”
The conference concluded on a musical note, with a performance by Damian Ordakowski, a student of the V High School of General Education, who sang “Imagine” by John Lennon. Sadly, half a century after its release, the song remains a powerful and relevant manifesto of peace, unity, and a utopian vision of a world without borders, religious divisions, ownership, or greed. Perhaps it is a utopia—but one that feels especially desirable after nearly four years of war in Ukraine.
Magdalena Maria Bukowiecka
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